Brief Report of Preliminary Outcomes of an Emotion Regulation Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The team ran a 10-week CBT program for 8- to 12-year-old boys with autism.

Thirteen boys met in small groups and practiced naming feelings, coping plans, and calming routines.

Every family stayed to the end and filled out a satisfaction survey.

All boys finished every session and parents gave the program top marks.

Early charts show the boys used calmer words and had fewer behavior outbursts after the course.

Berkovits et al. (2017) watched 3- to 8-year-olds with autism for 10 months without any help. Those kids stayed just as moody and their problems grew. The new study shows the same trouble can shrink once you add a short CBT class at the right age.

Anthony et al. (2020) used the exact same CBT plan five years later. They learned kids with strong words and worried parents gain the most, while kids who talk less and complain of tummy aches need extra visuals and body breaks first.

McGarty et al. (2018) swapped CBT for mindfulness and tried it with autistic adults. The idea still worked, proving emotion-regulation training can travel across ages and styles.

You now have a ready-made 10-week script that boys like and finish. Start it with third- to sixth-graders who can speak in sentences. Add picture cards and movement breaks for kids with limited language or body complaints. Track each child’s best and worst day so you can spot who needs more support just like Anthony et al. (2020) did.